Non-volatile display module and non-volatile display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A non-volatile display module has a display panel and a driving circuit. The display panel has a substrate at which at least one scan line, at least one data line and at least one thin film transistor (TFT) are disposed. The TFT is located at an intersection area of the scan line and data line. The driving circuit has a driving unit, a power converting unit and a multiplexing unit. The driving unit receives at least one image controlling signal according to a clock signal. The power converting unit generates a plurality of power signals. The multiplexing unit is electrically connected with the scan line, the data line, the driving unit and the power converting unit, and outputs one of the power signals to the scan line or the data line according to the image controlling signal. A non-volatile display apparatus is also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Non-provisional application claims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C.§119(a) on Taiwan Patent Application No(s). 098108777 filed in Taiwan,Republic of China on Mar. 18, 2009, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference. In addition, Chinese PatentApplication No. 200910129135.7, filed on Mar. 27, 2009 in China, andJapanese Patent Application No. 2010-025662, filed on Feb. 8, 2010 inJapan, are also hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to a display module and a display apparatus and,in particular, to a non-volatile display module and a non-volatiledisplay apparatus.

2. Related Art

Display apparatuses, developed from earlier cathode ray tubes (CRT)display apparatuses to present liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatuses,organic light emitting diode (OLED) display apparatuses and E-Paperdisplay apparatuses, have been gradually reduced in volume and weightand widely applied to communication, information and consumer electronicproducts.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional display apparatus, such as an LCDapparatus, includes an LCD module 1 which has an LCD panel 11, a datadriving circuit 12 and a scan driving circuit 13. The data drivingcircuit 12 is electrically with the LCD panel 11 by a plurality of datalines D₁₁ to D_(1n), and the scan driving circuit 13 is electricallyconnected with the LCD panel 11 by a plurality of scan lines S₁₁ toS_(1m).

As shown in FIG. 2, the data driving circuit 12 includes a shiftregister 122, a first latch 123, a second latch 124 and a level shifter125. The shift register 122 is electrically connected with the firstlatch 123, and the second latch 124 is electrically connected with thefirst latch 123 and the level shifter 125.

In conjunction with FIG. 3, the shift register 122 generates a pluralityof shift register signals A₁₁ to A_(1n) according to a start pulsesignal A₀₁ and a clock signal CK and transmits the shift registersignals A₁₁ to A_(1n) to the first latch 123.

The first latch 123 receives an image signal A₀₂, which is stored in thefirst latch 123 and includes a plurality of image data, according to theshift register signals A₁₁ to A_(1n), Then, the second latch 124 catchesthe image signal A₀₂ from the fist latch 123 according to a latchenabling signal A₀₃. The level shifter 125 converts the image signal A₀₂stored in the second latch 124 to a plurality of display signals thatare transmitted to the LCD panel 11 by the data lines D₁₁ to D_(1n), fordisplaying images.

With the progress of technologies, non-volatile materials, such aselectrophoretic material, electro-wetting material, cholesterol liquidcrystal and nematic liquid crystal, are applied to display apparatusesnowadays. The display apparatus using non-volatile materials is smallerin size and capable of portability, so if the data driving circuit 12and the scan driving circuit 13 can be integrated in the displayapparatus so as to decrease the number of components, the displayapparatus can save more room or can be lighter and thinner to furthersave production cost.

Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a non-volatile displaymodule and a non-volatile display apparatus that can decrease the numberof driving components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing subject, an object of the invention is toprovide a non-volatile display module and a non-volatile displayapparatus that can decrease the number of driving components.

To achieve the above object, the invention discloses a non-volatiledisplay module which includes a display panel and a driving circuit. Thedisplay panel has a substrate at which at least one scan line, at leastone data line and at least one thin film transistor (TFT) are disposed.The TFT is located at an intersection area of the scan line and dataline. The driving circuit has a driving unit, a power converting unitand a multiplexing unit. The driving unit receives at least one imagecontrolling signal according to a clock signal. The power convertingunit generates a plurality of power signals. The multiplexing unit iselectrically connected with the scan line, the data line, the drivingunit and the power converting unit, and outputs one of the power signalsto the scan line or the data line according to the image controllingsignal.

To achieve the above object, the invention discloses a non-volatiledisplay apparatus which includes a non-volatile display module. Thenon-volatile display module includes a display panel and a drivingcircuit. The driving circuit has a driving unit, a power converting unitand a multiplexing unit. The driving unit receives at least one imagecontrolling signal according to a clock signal. The power convertingunit generates a plurality of power signals. The multiplexing unit iselectrically connected with the scan line, the data line, the drivingunit and the power converting unit, and outputs one of the power signalsto the scan line or the data line according to the image controllingsignal.

As mentioned above, the driving circuit of the non-volatile displaymodule and apparatus of the invention has the driving unit, the powerconverting unit and the multiplexing unit, which can process the signalstransmitted by the scan line and the data line to display images.Compared with the prior art, the invention integrates the scan drivingcircuit and the data driving circuit into the driving circuit that isconfigured with a simpler frame and used to process the signalstransmitted by the scan line and the data line simultaneously.Therefore, the non-volatile display module and apparatus of theinvention can decrease the number of driving components to save moreroom and save the production cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will become more fully understood from the detaileddescription and accompanying drawings, which are given for illustrationonly, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional display apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional data driving circuit;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of controlling signals used by the datadriving circuit of a conventional display apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a non-volatile display apparatusaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 5 to 7 are schematic diagrams of the multiplexer and the powerconverting unit electrically connected with each other of the displayapparatus shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the power signals output by the powerconverting unit as shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be apparent from the following detaileddescription, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein the same references relate to the same elements.

First Embodiment

The non-volatile display apparatus means the display apparatus has atleast two stable states and can hold the stable state for at leastseveral tens of microseconds after the power is turned off. Besides, theoptical modulation material can include electrophoretic material,electro-wetting material, cholesterol liquid crystal or nematic liquidcrystal.

As shown in FIG. 4, the non-volatile display apparatus according to apreferred embodiment of the invention includes a non-volatile displaymodule 2 which has a display panel 3 and a driving circuit 4. Thedriving circuit 4 is electrically connected with the display panel 3 bya plurality of scan lines S₂₁ to S_(2m) and a plurality of data linesD₂₁ to D_(2n).

The display panel 3 has a substrate 31, at least one scan line, at leastone data line and at least one thin film transistor TFT. The thin filmtransistor TFT is disposed at an intersection area of the data line andthe scan line, and electrically connected with an electrode. In theembodiment, the intersection area and the thin film transistor TFT aredefined as a pixel unit. The pixel units can be disposed asone-dimension array or two-dimension array. The display panel 3 of theembodiment includes a plurality of pixel units 3 ₁₁ to 3 _(mn) as anillustrative example. The scan lines S₂₁ to S_(2m) and the data linesD₂₁ to D_(2n) are intersected and form a plurality of intersectionareas, and the pixel units 3 ₁₁ to 3 _(mn) are disposed at theintersection areas respectively.

Driving circuit 4 includes a driving unit 41, a power converting unit 42and a multiplexing unit 43. The multiplexing unit 43 is electricallyconnected with the scan lines S₂₁ to S_(2m), the data lines D₂₁ toD_(2n), the power converting unit 42 and the driving unit 41.

The driving unit 41 has a shift register 411 and a latch 412electrically connected to each other. The multiplexing unit 43 has atleast one multiplexer, and the multiplexing unit 43 of the embodimenthas a plurality of multiplexer 431 which are electrically connected withthe driving unit 41, the power converting unit 42, the scan lines S₂₁ toS_(2m) and the data lines D₂₁ to D_(2n) respectively.

When the driving circuit 4 is driven, the shift register 411 receives animage controlling signal A₂₁ according to a clock signal CK. The imagecontrolling signal A₂₁ includes a plurality of first driving signals A₃₁to A_(3m) and a plurality of second driving signals A₄₁ to A_(4n).

The latch 412 catches the first driving signals A₃₁ to A_(3m) and thesecond driving signals A₄₁ to A_(4n) according to a latch signal A₅₁ andtransmits the first driving signals A₃₁ to A_(3m) and the second drivingsignals A₄₁ to A_(4n) to the multiplexing unit 43. In the embodiment,the shift register 411 receives the image controlling signal A₂₁ in aserial way, and the latch 412 transmits the first driving signals A₃₁ toA_(3m) and the second driving signals A₄₁ to A_(4n) to the multiplexingunit 43 in a parallel way.

For clear description, the power converting unit 42, the multiplexer 431and the corresponding scan line S₂₁ that is electrically connected withthe power converting unit 42 and the multiplexer 431 are illustrated asan example to explain the multiplexing unit 43 can transmit one of thepower signal to the scan line S₂₁ according to the image controllingsignal A₂₁.

As shown in FIG. 5, the power converting unit 42 can output four powersignals A₆₁ to A₆₄ to the multiplexer 431. The power converting unit 42can be, for example, a DC/DC converting unit, and the power signals A₆₁to A₆₄ can be DC voltage signals, such as 30V, −10V, 20V and −5Vrespectively.

Because the multiplexer 431 is corresponding to the scan line S₂₁, theimage controlling signal A₂₁ is the first driving signal A₃₁ for thescan line S₂₁. When the first driving signal A₃₁ is transmitted to themultiplexer 431, the multiplexer 431 can transmit one of the powersignals A₆₁ to A₆₄ to the scan line S₂₁ according to the first drivingsignal A₃₁ to determine the voltage level of the scan signal transmittedby the scan line S₂₁. If the scan line S₂₁ transmits the voltage levelof 30V or 20V, the thin film transistor of the pixel 3 ₁₁ can be turnedon. If the scan line S₂₁ transmits the voltage level of −10V or −5V, thethin film transistor of the pixel 3 ₁₁ can be turned off.

To be noted, the number of the power signals generated by the powerconverting unit 42 can not be limited to four as shown in the embodiment(such as the power signals A₆₁ to A₆₄), but be designed according torequests, and the voltage level of the power signal is unlimited either.

In the embodiment, partial multiplexers 431 are electrically connectedwith the scan lines S₂₁ to S_(2m) and others are electrically connectedwith the data lines D₂₁ to D_(2n). For clear description, the powerconverting unit 42, the multiplexer 431 and the corresponding data lineD₂₁ that is electrically connected with the power converting unit 42 andthe multiplexer 431 are illustrated as an example to explain themultiplexing unit 43 can transmit one of the power signal to the dataline D₂₁ according to the image controlling signal A₂₁.

As shown in FIG. 6, the power converting unit 42 can output four powersignals A₆₁ to A₆₄ to the multiplexer 431. The power signals A₆₁ to A₆₄can be DC voltage signals, such as 30V, −10V, 20V and −5V respectively.

Because the multiplexer 431 is corresponding to the data line D₂₁, theimage controlling signal A₂₁ input to the multiplexer 431 is the seconddriving signal A₄₁ for the data line D₂₁. When the second driving signalA₄₁ is transmitted to the multiplexer 431, the multiplexer 431 cantransmit one of the power signals A₆₁ to A₆₄ to the data line D₂₁according to the second driving signal A₄₁ to determine the voltagelevel of the image signal transmitted by the data line D₂₁. If the thinfilm transistor of the pixel 3 ₁₁ turns on, the image signal transmittedby the data line D₂₁ can be applied to the pixel 3 ₁₁ so that the graylevel of the image to display can be controlled by the voltage level(30V, −10V, 20V or −5V) of the image signal.

As mentioned above, the power converting unit 42 can transmit the powersignals A₆₁ to A₆₄ to the multiplexer 431 through different outputterminals or wires. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, the power signalsA₆₁ to A₆₄ can be transmitted through the same output terminal or wireto the multiplexer 431 a by the power converting unit 42 a. In thiscase, as shown in FIG. 8, the power converting unit 42 a transmits thepower signals A₆₁ to A₆₄ to the multiplexer 431 a through the sameterminal or wire at different time by time division multiplexing. Forexample, the power signal A₆₁ is output at time T₁, the power signal A₆₂is output at time T₂, the power signal A₆₃ is output at time T₃, thepower signal A₆₄ is output at time T₄, and after (including time T₅),the power signals A₆₁ to A₆₄ are sequentially output again. To be noted,the level voltages of the power signals A₆₁ to A₆₄ are not limited here.

Besides, in manufacturing, at least one portion of the driving circuit 4can be disposed in an integrated circuit (IC) through a mono-crystallineprocess for effectively reducing size, or disposed at the same substratewith the pixel units 3 ₁₁ to 3 _(mn) through a multi-crystalline processor an amorphous process. The amorphous process can be an amorphoussilicon TFT process or an organic TFT process. For example, the drivingunit 41 can be disposed in an IC through a mono-crystallinesemiconductor process, and the power converting unit 42 and themultiplexing unit 43 can be disposed at the same substrate with thepixel units 3 ₁₁ to 3 _(mn) through a multi-crystalline process or anamorphous process. In sum, the driving unit 41, the power convertingunit 42 and the multiplexing unit 43 can be integrated in an IC, or thedriving unit 41 and the multiplexing unit 43 are integrated in an IC.The IC above can be a mono-crystalline IC.

In summary, the driving circuit of the non-volatile display module andapparatus of the invention has the driving unit, the power convertingunit and the multiplexing unit, which can process the signalstransmitted by the scan line and the data line to display images.Compared with the prior art, the invention integrates the scan drivingcircuit and the data driving circuit into the driving circuit that isconfigured of a simpler frame and used to process the signalstransmitted by the scan line and the data line simultaneously.Therefore, the non-volatile display module and apparatus of theinvention can decrease the number of driving components to save moreroom and save the production cost.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limitingsense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well asalternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover allmodifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-volatile display module, comprising: adisplay panel having a substrate, wherein at least one scan line, atleast one data line and at least one thin film transistor (TFT) aredisposed on the substrate, and the TFT is disposed at an intersectionarea of the scan line and the data line; and an integrated drivingcircuit having: only a driving unit receiving at least an imagecontrolling signal according to only a clock signal, wherein the imagecontrolling signal has a plurality of first driving signals and aplurality of second driving signals; a power converting unit generatinga plurality of power signals; and a multiplexing unit directly connectedwith the scan line, the data line, the driving unit and the powerconverting unit, respectively; wherein the multiplexer transmits one ofthe power signals to the scan line according to one of the first drivingsignals to determine a voltage level of a scan signal transmitted by thescan line, and the multiplexer transmits one of the power signals to thedata line according to one of the second driving signals to determine avoltage level of an image signal transmitted by the data line.
 2. Thedisplay module as recited in claim 1, wherein the driving unit has: atleast one shift register receiving the image controlling signalaccording to the clock signal; and at least one latch electricallyconnected with the shift register and receiving the image controllingsignal according to a latch signal.
 3. The display module as recited inclaim 1, wherein the power converting unit is a DC/DC converting unit.4. The display module as recited in claim 1, wherein at least oneportion of the display module is made through a mono-crystallineprocess, a multi-crystalline process or an amorphous process.
 5. Thedisplay module as recited in claim 4, wherein the amorphous process isan amorphous silicon TFT process or an organic TFT process.
 6. Thedisplay module as recited in claim 1, wherein the driving unit, thepower converting unit and the multiplexing unit are configured in anintegrated circuit (IC).
 7. The display module as recited in claim 1,wherein the driving unit and the multiplexing unit are configured in anintegrated circuit (IC).
 8. A non-volatile display apparatus,comprising: a non-volatile display module, comprising: a display panelhaving a substrate, wherein at least one scan line, at least one dataline and at least one thin film transistor (TFT) are disposed on thesubstrate, and the TFT is disposed at an intersection area of the scanline and the data line; and an integrated driving circuit having: only adriving unit receiving at least an image controlling signal according toonly a clock signal, wherein the image controlling signal has aplurality of first driving signals and a plurality of second drivingsignals; a power converting unit generating a plurality of powersignals; and a multiplexing unit, directly connected with the scan line,the data line, the driving unit and the power converting unit,respectively; wherein the multiplexer transmits one of the power signalsto the scan line according to one of the first driving signals todetermine a voltage level of a scan signal transmitted by the scan line,and the multiplexer transmits one of the power signals to the data lineaccording to one of the second driving signals to determine a voltagelevel of an image signal transmitted by the data line.
 9. The displayapparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the driving unit has: at leastone shift register, receiving the image controlling signal according tothe clock signal; and at least one latch, electrically connected withthe shift register and receiving the image controlling signal accordingto a latch signal.
 10. The display apparatus as recited in claim 8,wherein the power converting unit is a DC/DC converting unit.
 11. Thedisplay apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein at least one portion ofthe display module is made by a mono-crystalline process, amulti-crystalline process or an amorphous process.
 12. The displayapparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein the amorphous process is anamorphous silicon TFT process or an organic TFT process.
 13. The displayapparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the driving unit, the powerconverting unit and the multiplexing unit are configured in anintegrated circuit (IC).
 14. The display apparatus as recited in claim8, wherein the driving unit and the multiplexing unit are configured inan integrated circuit (IC).